Burning Man
by Aubrie1234
Summary: What if the Blackwells hadn't died, not at first? What if they had another son after the disaster? And what if this boy, now all grown up, met the Saturdays? What if he was involved with the latest mission? And what if this man was named Wheeler?
1. Connection

Burning Man

By: Aubrie1234

* * *

Wheeler stared at the DNA box in apprehension. Why couldn't his friends have gotten him something a little less imposing for Christmas? It had been over a month since he had gotten the box and now the other Planeteers were pushing for him to try it as they sat in the main hut's living room.

"Well?" asked Gi, "Aren't you going to open it?"

"_Да_, you have been complaining that you wanted a chance to find out if you have other family members besides your parents." Linka added, "Why don't you try it?"

"Well, if you grew up like I did, you'd be pretty scared too, babe."

"What's so scary about finding out where you're from?" Ma-ti asked. Wheeler gave him a look.

"I know where I'm from, but finding out about my family is a bit..._much_, don't you think?"

"I am sure they are better than your own parents." Kwame said, "Just try it, Wheeler."

"If that's true, I wish I'd been with them instead." the redhead muttered to himself, then said, "Fine, I will, but let me do this in private." He stood up and moved out of the room with the box in hand, shaking his head.

"I just realized something." Gi said after a moment of silence, "Couldn't we have just asked Gaia about Wheeler's family?"

"Perhaps, but what's the fun in just getting the answers?" The mentioned Spirit of the Earth walked into the room with a smile.

"True." Linka admitted, "But do you really know who he's related to, Gaia?"

"Yes, and I think you're going to really like them, once you meet."

"Could you tell us?" Ma-ti wanted to know. Gaia shook her head.

"Not until Wheeler finds out for himself."

"Fair enough." said Kwame.

"Done." Wheeler announced as he came back into the room, "I think I'm gonna send this back at our P.O Box in New York City. Said it's gonna take 6-8 weeks until it comes back." As he spoke, Wheeler wasn't meeting their eyes, either keeping a secret or being nervous.

"I wonder what you will discover about yourself, Yankee."

"Probably a lot more than I should, babe."

* * *

Wheeler was anxious when it was time to check the P.O. Box and see if the results were back. He wanted to see them, and yet he didn't. He didn't know what he would find and he was terrified and excited at the same time, but his friends managed to convince him to check it, and so he did. For a week he kept going to New York City, checking over and over again for the results and feeling both glad and disappointed when there was nothing. But then, just as he was ready to leave it be, the results were back, and he almost couldn't believe the results. Of course he had ancestry from Western Europe, among other places, but he was more focused on the note that said that he had relatives elsewhere who were also looking for relations. They had also taken the test like himself and wanted to know if there was anyone out there they were related to, and Wheeler was astonished.

"I almost can't believe it." Wheeler murmured, staring at the report in his hands as his friends sat around him in the living room, "I mean, I was so sure I was alone..."

"Who are they?" Ma-ti asked.

"Drew Saturday and Doyle Blackwell. I think they might be my siblings."

"Why are their last names different? I thought your last name was Wheeler."

"It is, but that's because I was adopted. And they're my brother and sister, so it makes sense that Drew has a different last name if she's married."

"You should meet them." suggested Linka, "They are your family, after all."

"I don't know. It's been years, how could we know for sure? This was a bad id-"

"No it wasn't." Gi interrupted, "They're looking for family too, I'm sure they want to meet you."

"You're way more confident about this than I am." Wheeler put his head in his hands.

"You don't have to ask them to come here and meet us." Kwame said, "You could contact them and suggest meeting them slowly, since it has been so long." Wheeler shook his head, but before he could say anything else, Gaia came in.

"Planeteers, there's an Eco-Emergency." she announced, and the report was forgotten as the 5-piece group went to their jobs.

* * *

Wheeler was hoping that would be the last he heard of his newfound siblings, but he should've known better. His friends kept pestering him about it, to meet them, but Wheeler didn't know if he could. It wasn't until Gaia pulled him away for a moment to talk to him that he finally made decision.

"Wheeler?"

"Yeah?" He looked up from polishing his wind-surfboard, as if to take it out later, wondering what the Spirit wanted of him.

"I'm curious about something." She sat beside him, "Why don't you want to meet Drew and Doyle?" Wheeler paled. He was afraid she would ask this.

"W-well..." He looked back at his board, "What's the point of messing up their lives by just adding myself in?"

"But they want to see you, you said that the report mentioned they were also looking for family."

"They've probably had better lives than mine anyways."

"How do you know? Have you looked them up?"

"...No. Are they famous?"

"A little. But that's not the only reason why you don't want to see them, is it?" Wheeler shook his head.

"No, it's not. I'm just-" He gave a sigh, "What if they don't like me? What if I lose the family I just found because of that?"

"Oh Wheeler..." Gaia sighed to herself, "They wouldn't have asked the people to keep the information open if they didn't want to meet anyone. Whatever happens, I'm sure that they'll like you, good or bad. Now, will you please try to meet them?"

"...Fine. I will, but only to make you guys happy."

"I promise that the meeting won't be that bad, Wheeler. As the Spirit of the Earth, I know what everyone is like, and I know that they're better people than you give them credit for."

"I hope you're right." Wheeler said and Gaia left him alone to his polishing, hoping that he truly would give Drew and Doyle a chance.

* * *

Wheeler sat at his favorite cafe in New York City as he waited for Drew and Doyle to arrive. At first he had contacted them and made sure that they were definitely siblings before they arranged to meet, and he had tried to research them. Emphasis on 'tried,' as the two were hard to look for and almost impossible to find. All he knew was that Drew and her husband Doc were scientists of some sort, they had a son named Zak, and that was it. There was basically nothing on Doyle, though they probably knew a lot more about Wheeler, since his status as a Planeteer and heroics weren't covered up. And again he found himself doubting if they would get along, if he would lose his only remaining family, and he tried to get rid of those feelings, but he couldn't. He wondered if Drew and Doyle were the same way.

Hearing the doorbell ring, he lifted his head to see the door opened by the two people he had come to meet. They had sent pictures of each other so that they all knew what they looked like when they met, and Wheeler wasn't disappointed. Drew was the albino woman who looked sexy and Doyle was the redheaded strongman with the mohawk who looked like he should be a punk instead of a good guy. Wheeler wondered if he was and if Doyle could crush his head in. He was taken out of these thoughts as they spotted him and came over, smiling.

"Hello." Drew greeted as Doyle nodded, the two of them sliding into the opposite side of Wheeler's booth, and their looks made the Fire Planeteer wonder how they could possibly be related. They looked almost nothing alike and Wheeler wondered if the tests could have been false. But they had tested twice, so how could they be wrong twice? As it was, he nodded and smiled.

"Hey. I'm Wheeler. You're Drew and Doyle, right?"

"Yep." said Doyle, leaning on a hand, "And so you're a Planeteer?"

"Don't go too fast, Doyle." Drew gave her brother a glare.

"No, it's fine." Wheeler said, "And yeah, I am. What about you guys? All I could find out was that Drew was a scientist, married, and has a son."

"That's mostly right." said Drew, "I'm a cryptozoologist, and Doyle-" Drew cut herself off, a confused look on her face, then turned to her brother, "What's your job _now_, anyway?"

"Official or unofficial?"

"Official." Doyle shrugged.

"Don't really have one at the moment."

"What's a cryptozoologist do?" Wheeler asked, trying to get things back on task. He already felt like a third wheel after seeing how well the two interacted with one another.

"Study cryptids." Drew answered.

"But they don't exist, do they?"

"Doesn't mean you can't study them." she answered.

"So..." Doyle looked a little more awkward now, "The one big thing about this whole meeting we wanted to know..."

"Yeah?" Drew gave a sigh and looked at Wheeler seriously.

"When we were younger, Doyle and I got separated from our parents. We thought they died as soon as it happened, but upon finding out about you, that means they survived. Do you know what happened to them?" Wheeler paused.

"Yeah, but I don't really remember it because I was too young. I know what happened because my adopted mom told me." Wheeler closed his eyes, "As far as I can tell, after you got separated from them, they tried looking for you up until they had me. I think that our mom died soon after I was born and our dad tried to take care of me, but a few years later he got sick and died."

"So… They're still dead." Doyle summed up, voice low. Wheeler nodded.

"Sorry to get your hopes up." he said.

"No, it's okay." Drew said, taking Wheeler's hand as if to console him, "We knew they were dead to some extent, but we're just glad it wasn't because of something else." She smiled, "We're just glad to find another piece of our family." Wheeler shrugged.

"I guess. Even though Ma told me about my real family, I never took the time to think about you guys, who you could be, and I guess that's because I never wanted to face the reality of it all."

"You had it easy, though." Doyle commented, "After the separation, Drew was raised by monks and I was alone, moving from place to place. It was only out of luck that we got to see each other again." Wheeler shook his head, frowning.

"Not really. I didn't have it easy at all. I'd say my life was like a mix of both of yours. Sure I was raised by my adoptive parents, but my Pa was an alcoholic and beat me, had me go out and get him his drinks, so a lot of nights I spent my time away from home." He crossed his arms, "Ma didn't stop him, but she loved me, so I guess that kinda counts as being better off."

"That sounds awful." said Drew.

"I know what you mean." Doyle spoke glumly, causing the other two to look at him in surprise, "Some of the places I've been were kinda like that, being hurt and abused and such, so I hightailed it out of there first chance I got. Why didn't you?"

"Ma. I couldn't just leave her behind." Wheeler rubbed his ring with a finger, looking at it, "I didn't really leave until I joined the Planeteers. It was great, being free, but sometimes I wondered how Ma was doing. She's better now, so I don't have to worry as much." He looked up at them again, "Anyway, what about you guys? How's your side of the family?"

"My husband Doc, our son Zak, and I travel all over the world to study cryptids. And when we need it, Doyle babysits Zak." Drew gave Doyle a look, "He usually stays with us now anyway, sort of like a squatter." Doyle just grinned.

"But you guys love me, you know that. And I'm gonna be moving out soon with my partner, so you don't have to worry your pretty little head about me much longer." Drew sighed.

"Chances are I will anyway. But Wheeler, what's life like as a Planeteer?" Drew angled the second half of the question at the almost-forgotten man. Wheeler blinked as she continued, "We saw some of the things you've done on TV and it seems nice to save the world every day."

"I guess." The youngest of the trio shrugged; he seemed to be doing that a lot around his siblings, "It's nice to see the world but sometimes the villains are just so _annoying_."

"You're right about that." Doyle agreed, "Some of the people I've met still hate me." Wheeler raised an eyebrow.

"You have enemies? Who?"

"Well," Doyle looked sheepish and a little ashamed, "I used to be a mercenary, and that lifestyle makes a lot of enemies. I'm mostly out of it, but sometimes I do a job or two if money's low."

"...My family is crazy." Wheeler surmised.

"You don't know the half of it." The other two agreed in unison.

* * *

After they talked a little more, Wheeler decided to show them around some of his old haunts, since they mentioned that they'd like to meet his mother if they could. They said they wanted to thank her for taking care of their little brother, and Wheeler didn't doubt that having them meet would be kinda cool. And on the way, besides the haunts, there was a special place he wanted to show them.

"Here we are." Being October, chilly winds were already blowing through the city and seemed to pick up a little when the Planeteer opened the cemetery gates, "I know you probably don't like to be reminded that they're dead, but I thought you might wanna see 'em one last time."

"...You didn't have to do this." Drew murmured softly, the atmosphere imposing a solemn silence on all of them.

"I know, but you knew them better than I ever did. You deserve this." With a small gesture for them to follow him, he lead the way through rows and rows of graves until he came to a large one, commemorating two people at once. On its surface there wasn't much besides the epitaphs, just a small landscape. Wheeler, despite having seen it so many times before, joined Drew and Doyle as support while they gazed at the grave.

_Destiny Andrea Blackwell née Sullivan_

_Beloved mother and wife_

_May you keep loving forever_

o-+-o

_Devin Oscar Blackwell_

_Good friend, father, and husband_

_Life's boundaries never applied to you_

"...I'm glad Dad had someone who cared enough to give him an epitaph." Doyle said quietly.

"And they're not wrong. Mom was always a loving person, and Dad was just so lively and fun." Drew wiped at her eyes, "They were amazing parents." She turned to Wheeler, "Thank you again for showing us this."

"No problem." He supposed he should feel like an outsider, which he did, but he also felt like he belonged with these two. He may not have been as smart, but he could see parts of himself in them at times, so he wondered if he just looked different and that was it. He'd love to be part of their family if they'd let him because, besides the Planeteers, Gaia, and Ma, he really didn't have anyone else. And after a moment, the trio left the graveyard to continue on their way, following Wheeler as he continued to show them the city. He showed them some of his hangouts, a few pieces of Trish's 'art,' and tried to make the journey as long as he could. He was nervous about them meeting his mother, even if they had good things to say. When she saw them, would she not think of Wheeler as _her_ son anymore? He hoped she wouldn't do that to him, and all too soon they were at the apartment where she lived.

"You never mentioned if your mom lived with your father anymore." Doyle noted.

"Yeah. Bastard had liver failure. Serves him right." Wheeler, despite his background, tried not to curse when he could (as he was usually around Ma-ti and the girls), but to him, his father deserved his anger.

"That's cruel." Drew frowned.

"If you were abused by your alcoholic father, you would hate him too." Things became quiet again between them. They climbed the building until they came to Wheeler's mother's apartment, where he knocked on the door. He could have used his key, but he didn't want to just barge in with two strangers. When the door was opened, Wheeler found his mother just as she had always been, and her eyes lit up when she saw her son.

"Wheeler!" she cried, giving him a sudden hug, "Oh, how have you been? It's so nice to see you again!"

"I know, Ma." For the first time since meeting Drew and Doyle, Wheeler felt a smile cross his face as he hugged her back, "I came for a visit, and I wanted to talk about something."

"Oh?" Then she saw the other two visitors, "I'm sorry! Please, come in!"

"It's okay." Drew tried to assure her, but Ma was having none of it as she had them take the couch and chair as she fixed them something to eat.

"See? This is why you had it better than we did!" Doyle exclaimed as he took the chair while Wheeler and Drew took the couch.

"Don't get your hopes up." Wheeler warned, even as he gave a wink. Drew looked around, a little uncomfortable.

"I've always lived in open spaces… This seems so _confined_."

"It is." chorused Doyle and Wheeler, who then shared a look of surprise. Maybe Wheeler was closer to his brother than he originally thought.

"It's nice to meet all of you." said Ma when she returned with some sandwiches.

"You didn't have to do-" began Drew.

"Ma does what she wants, Drew. You're not gonna change her mind." said the younger redhead as he grabbed a sandwich, "Anyway, Ma, these are my older brother and sister, Doyle and Drew. I did a DNA test and it turns out we're all related."

"By how many years?" asked Ma.

"Drew's 6 years older than me..." Doyle thought about it, "And how old are you, Wheeler?"

"27."

"Wow. I'm 33 and Drew's 39. We're all 6 years apart."

"Don't remind me of my age." Drew sighed.

"Well, I'm glad you've found your family, sweetie." Ma said, "I always wondered if you would go looking someday."

"But you're part of my family too, Ma." Wheeler added quickly.

"And I always will be, but now you've got new people to connect to."

"But-"

"No buts, Wheeler." The Planeteer turned a little red at his mother's rebuke and kept quiet.

"It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Wheeler." Drew said as she and Doyle shook hands with the woman.

"It's been nice meeting you too." She smiled, "Please come again anytime. I'd always love to know more about my son's family."

"Hey, we don't have to leave yet!" Doyle said.

"I know, I'm just saying that if you want to, I'm always free."

"Thank you for the offer, it's very generous." Drew spoke, "I can see how Wheeler loves you so much."

"I'm glad you think that." They all talked a little more with the woman before they had to leave, and with it late in the day, it looked like it was time for them to all go home.

"Where are you staying, anyway?" Wheeler asked, curious as they stood outside of the building, "If you don't have a place, i'm offering mine."

"No, it's fine, we have a place." Doyle assured, "But maybe we can have a few more meetings like this, so you can meet our side of the family. I mean, we've already met yours."

"Yeah, but you also haven't met my friends. They're like family to me."

"I know how that feels..." Doyle shook his head a little, as if remembering something sad.

"Maybe we can do it when we're both not busy." Drew suggested, "Which is probably harder than it looks, since we all get called away at a moment's notice with what we do."

"True, but let's try to plan a date anyway." Wheeler said, "And we can meet wherever."

"How about at your place?" Doyle said, "It's fine with us."

"Alright..." Wheeler found himself looking forward to seeing them again, such a difference from the beginning of the day when he didn't think things would end well. He was glad he had tried now, and he hoped everyone could get along as well as they did today.

* * *

_**Yeah, new story. I know I should be working on others, but this one just didn't want to leave my head. And I made up the names of Drew and Doyle's parents, since we never learn them in the series. I hope you guys like it, so please read & review!**_


	2. This May Be More Than I Bargained For

Burning Man

By: Aubrie1234

* * *

For once in his life, Wheeler felt excited to see his family again. They'd set the date to be around two weeks later and, after their jobs got in the way, it seemed the date was set to be perfect. Drew, Doyle, and their family weren't occupied and the Eco-Villains seemed to have taken a break after their last defeat, so Wheeler's family was able to come and visit. He'd offered to use the Geo-Cruiser to bring them, but they assured that they had their own way of transportation. However, they didn't know where Hope Island was, so he sent them special coordinates. But now, as the day wore on and he waited for their arrival, he began to doubt things. Were they really as good as they had seemed the first time? What if it was a ruse? What if they were actually evil and wanted to destroy the island? What if-

"Wheeler." He looked up from his pacing to find Linka in the doorway. Her arms were crossed and he wondered why.

"Yeah, Babe?" She approached him.

"Stop pacing. I am sure you are worrying over nothing." Wheeler shook his head.

"But what if I was wrong? What if they lied and they're actually really bad people? What if-"

"Wheeler." Linka gave him a small glare, "You must stop worrying, Yankee." She gave him a kiss on the cheek, making him blush, "It does not look good on you."

"Yeah, I get it, but this is my family, people I've never seen until a few weeks ago. Sure, we learned a bit about each other, but I know less about them than they know about me." He rested his hands on hers, "Linka, what if I'm wrong? I know I might be overthinking this, but still..." Linka shook her head.

"Нет, Wheeler, I understand. You barely know them and are suspicious, but you must try to give them a bigger chance and do not let your doubt surround you." She gave his hands a gentle squeeze, "I will be by your side, after all." Wheeler smiled and leaned forward until their foreheads were touching.

"You have no idea how comforting that is, babe." He took her hand and they left the hut together, "Also, I hope you guys don't mind my family. From what I saw, they're a little weird."

"We have been through weirder." Wheeler shrugged.

"I guess. Only..." He frowned, "I think my brother is gay or something." Linka raised her eyebrows.

"Is that a concern?"

"Not really. I'm just worried about how people will judge him. I mean, you guys won't judge him for who he likes, right?"

"I will not." Linka assured, "I do not know about the others, though I am sure they would not mind."

"Okay. I don't want you guys to feel like you've been put into a bad situation, y'know?"

"I understand, Yankee." She looked to the sky, "How will they arrive?" Wheeler looked up as well.

"I honestly don't know. They said they had transportation and I gave them directions, but they're not here yet." He frowned, "I hope nothing bad happened."

"You've certainly got yourselves a big jungle on this island." Both of them turned around, surprised at the voice.

"Doyle?!" Wheeler was astonished. How had his big brother gotten here? Doyle dusted himself off as he came out of the foliage and gave Linka a smile.

"Nice to meet you, pretty lady." He gave a bow, "I'm Doyle." Wheeler glared at his brother as jealousy rose in his chest. Linka rolled her eyes.

_Wheeler's brother is as much a Yankee as he is._ she thought, "My name is Linka. How did you get here?"

"Jetpack." He turned around to let them see the machine attached to his back.

"Really?" Wheeler touched it and stepped back, afraid that it would turn on and burn his hand. He may have wielded Fire, but that didn't mean he wasn't afraid of it.

"This thing's been all over the world with me." Doyle pat it fondly, "Anyway, I used it to get here on my own, since we couldn't find the place, even with your coordinates."

"'We?' Is Drew somewhere close?" Doyle nodded and took out a strange phone.

"Satellite phone." he explained to their confused faces and dialed his sister's number. It rang a few times before her face appeared on the screen.

"Finally! I thought you'd fallen into the ocean or something!" Doyle had to hold the phone away so he wouldn't go deaf from his sister's yelling, "Did you find Hope Island?"

"I found it alright." He turned the phone so that she could see Wheeler and Linka, "Lil' bro and his girlfriend are here too."

"I am not the Yankee's girlfriend." Linka protested.

"Not even to first base? _Wow_." Wheeler punched Doyle's arm.

"Knock it off." he said as Doyle rubbed his arm in mock-hurt. Wheeler wouldn't be surprised if it hadn't hurt, with how muscular his older brother was.

"Well, I managed to get a lock on the phone, so we know where the island is." Drew announced, "We should be there in a few minutes, so try not to kill each other?" She gave Doyle a look.

"I haven't done anything!" His protest fell on deaf ears as Drew cut the connection.

"I can understand her concern." Linka said, "You may not look alike, but you very much act alike."

"We do not!" They gave each other surprised looks, having said it at the same time. Linka crossed her arms in triumph.

"I believe there is nothing else to say."

"Anyway," Doyle began, "is there an area where they can land around here?"

"Uh, there's space on the beach. So they're coming in a plane?" Wheeler looked up, trying to search the sky.

"Not exactly..." Doyle gave a sheepish look, "We might wanna find your friends before our family gets here, otherwise everyone would get kinda freaked out." Wheeler and Linka shared a look, wondering what Doyle thought would freak them out, but led the way from the huts to the Crystal Chamber to introduce him to everyone. Somehow, Doyle had that infectious-happiness feeling about him and made friends with everyone really quickly, answering any questions they had for him or brushing them off a little, saying that they'd be answered once the Saturdays arrived. This made Wheeler somewhat suspicious but he tried to be optimistic that they'd be answered when the others arrived, like Doyle said. As they talked, Wheeler kept an eye on the sky, trying to figure out what direction the Saturdays would come from. He wasn't surprised when Gaia came over to join him. She had been introduced as the owner of the island but not much more than that, just in case.

"Something wrong?" she asked. Wheeler shook his head.

"No. I mean, I'm glad he's here, but I'm really nervous." Gaia nodded.

"You can trust them, Wheeler. Being the Spirit of the Earth has its advantages. I also owe the Saturdays a lot." Wheeler turned to her, eyebrows raised.

"Really? You mean you've met them?"

"No, but they've saved me a few times. Do you remember all of those rampaging animals a few years ago?"

"Let me guess, the Saturdays had something to do with it?"

"Sort of. They were trying to stop the rampages, which were caused by an evil being they had been fighting against for a long time." Gaia gazed into the sky, "I think they're here." Wheeler followed her stare to see nothing in the sky until, out of nowhere, a large, orange, blimp-like airship appeared. With a yelp of surprise he stepped back, attracting the attention of the others. Doyle grinned at the sight of the airship.

"Looks like everyone's here. And if you guys have any questions, feel free to ask." Doyle moved to the doorway to greet his family.

"I suddenly feel very out of my depth here..." Wheeler sat down anxiously.

"I'm sure you're not." Gi sat beside him, "They could just be very rich, maybe a little eccentric."

"Is it bad that I don't feel reassured?"

"Do not panic." said Kwame, "Get to know them before you make a choice. This is only the second meeting."

"Right." It was at that moment that, out of nowhere, a Komodo Dragon leapt at Doyle and brought him to the ground. The Planeteers were ready to fight the beast off until they realized that Doyle wasn't afraid of what was going on at all.

"Stop! Stop! Damn it, Komodo, _stop_!" Doyle was laughing as the large komodo dragon licked his face like a dog. Eventually, it crawled off the redhead, allowing Doyle to sit up. He said, "I can see _someone_ **really** doesn't want a Christmas present this year." Komodo glanced around, as if to say, 'Who are you talking about?' Doyle gave the lizard a look. Komodo ignored it with the exception of a sly smile. Doyle rolled his eyes and rubbed the komodo dragon's head.

"Komodo! Don't go running off like that!" Into the Crystal Chamber came what the Planeteers could only believe were the Saturdays. There was Drew with who Wheeler supposed were her son and husband. As the man helped pull Doyle to his feet, Wheeler seriously wondered if he should start regretting meeting Drew and Doyle. The boy (Wheeler remembered his name was Zak from the first meeting with his new siblings) hugged Komodo and also wasn't scared of the large animal, who acted more like a dog than a dangerous lizard, and Wheeler wondered if Komodo was somehow the Saturdays' pet. Zak also seemed to be around the same age Ma-ti was when the boy first joined the Planeteers, but that had been over six years ago. However, that didn't stop Wheeler from still seeing Ma-ti as a little brother that needed to be taken care of, and in turn that was now being extended to Zak, his nephew. He actually had a _nephew_. It felt like the world was ending, but in a good way.

"Wheeler!" Drew spotted him and he got up to give her a hug. Maybe he really needed to stop worrying, there was nothing to be afraid of. His siblings were here, his new family was here, they seemed to be great people, it was all good. After they separated, Drew introduced him and the other Planeteers to Doc, Zak, and Komodo and in turn Wheeler introduced Linka, Gi, Kwame, Ma-ti, and Suchi. Wheeler only introduced the monkey when Komodo began chasing him, as Suchi had been keeping out of sight.

"Komodo no!" Drew grabbed the large lizard's tail to keep him from chasing the monkey and she was strong enough that Komodo wasn't going anywhere. The dragon seemed to grumble to himself for a few moments before relenting and looking for something to eat. Gaia took some pity on Komodo and pointed him towards the kitchen, giving him a look. The komodo dragon gave a grateful hiss before clambering away, causing Suchi to sigh in relief.

"Wow. I wish I could be as strong as you, Drew." Gi was amazed at her feat of strength. Drew blushed with a smile.

"It's nothing." said the albino woman.

"So, uh, is Komodo your pet?" Wheeler couldn't help but ask.

"No way!" Zak shook his head strongly, "Komodo, he's basically my brother." This caused Wheeler's eyebrows to shoot up.

"Your brother, huh?"

"They grew up together and Komodo is a good lizard." Doc said, "He's also not the only animal sibling Zak's got."

"Alright..." Wheeler was beginning to doubt if this was a good idea again, "What other animal siblings do you have, mini-man?" The Saturdays and Doyle shared surprised looks.

"Wow. You really _are_ like me." Doyle commented, "That's one of my nicknames for Zak."

"Huh."

"Well," Zak began, "Fisk is my brother and I have a sister named Zon. They're really cool and waiting in the airship. They didn't wanna scare anyone."

"I am sure that they would not scare us." said Kwame, "Invite them inside, everyone is welcome here." Zak nodded and, giving a glance to Wheeler, he left. As he was gone, Linka thought about the circumstances for a moment. She remembered what Wheeler was like when they took in all the animals, before he turned himself around, so she wondered how he would act now, knowing that three of his four nephews and niece were animals.

"So all of you work together to protect animals?" asked Gi as Komodo finally came back from the kitchen, chewing on some bacon he had somehow gotten out of a pack from the fridge. Ma-ti double-checked that he wasn't actually eating the bag as Doc answered, "Yes, it's something we've been doing since before Zak was born and he's been with us doing it since."

"We save animals as well, but mostly we protect the environment." said Linka.

"I know, we've seen your work." Drew said, "Great job, by the way. Wish that's what we did instead."

"Why?" asked Kwame.

"Well, our work can get dangerous sometimes." admitted Doc, "Zak manages to get into trouble a lot and no matter how much we try to keep him from getting hurt, he always somehow gets into the thick of things."

"But you said you're cryptozoologists, studying animals that don't exist." Wheeler pointed out, "How does that work? Do you just rescue animals on the side?"

"Who says that cryptids aren't real?" They all looked over to the doorway and the Planeteers either yelped or gasped at the sight of the pterodactyl-like flying lizard and giant gorilla-cat-thing standing with Zak. The boy gestured, "This is Fisk, and this is Zon." Doyle rubbed his face tiredly.

"Mini-man, there is a time and place for everything and now is not it." He nodded his head at the shocked and surprised Planeteers while Gaia smiled.

"Um, oops?"

"Hedezebah!" Fisk waved cheerily as Zon cawed. Wheeler turned to Drew and Doyle.

"I think we need to talk."

* * *

"...So what you're saying is, cryptids are actually real and you work together as part of this secret group called the Secret Scientists to protect cryptids and keep them secret, among other things?" Wheeler summed up as they took seats in the living room portion of the Crystal Chamber. The Saturdays and Doyle all nodded.

"That's basically the gist of it." Drew confirmed.

"Like I said, our family is weird." Doyle shrugged. Drew jabbed him in the side to shut him up, even if it didn't seem to hurt the redhead. The Saturdays were somewhat surprised at how well the Planeteers were taking everything, but then again, they summoned an earth spirit to help them out on a daily basis, so knowing that cryptids are real shouldn't be all that surprising. Wheeler got up from his seat and moved to the door.

"Look, I get all that, but give me a few moments to step out and process all this." he said. When he was gone, Drew frowned.

"I didn't mean to overload him..."

"I'm sure he's fine." Doc said, putting a hand on her arm, "If I was introduced to all of this so suddenly, it would be a lot for me to take in, too."

"But how did this all start?" asked Kwame.

"Well, it kinda comes from all of us." Zak said, "Not me, I mean, but Mom and Dad and Uncle Doyle all had experience with cryptids before they started doing the Secret Scientist thing but it was Dad that got us into all this."

"He's right." Doc nodded, "When I was young, I was mentored by a man named Dr. Basil Lancaster. We studied cryptids together and he was the one that got me interested in them, to the point that I wanted to help protect them from people who would try to misuse them. I had money and means and so I decided to really get into it after I met Drew."

"As for myself and Doyle, the main reason we got into dealing with cryptids is because of what happened to us when we were young." Drew admitted, "I don't wanna tell the whole story, but our parents and the two of us were camping in the Himalayas until a yeti attacked us. The four of us were separated and only now it's because of Wheeler that Doyle and I know our parents were alive, even if we never saw them again." Doyle took one of Drew's hands and gave her a comforting look. She squeezed back.

"That is a terrible thing to go through." Ma-ti said as he sat in the floor with Komodo and Zon, petting the pterodactyl-like creature, "I too lost my parents at a young age. It is not easy to deal with." Suchi squeaked and nodded.

"Eh dezebuh, fendle en?" Fisk asked.

"He said he wants to know how you guys all met." Zak translated.

"You can understand him?" asked Linka, surprised.

"Well duh. I grew up with him and Komodo and Zon. I can understand all of them." said Zak.

"That is a very powerful gift, being able to understand them so well." said Ma-ti, "I use my Heart Power to help me understand animals."

"Can you ask them to do things for you?"

"Yes, but not always. I mostly just use my feelings." The young Saturday boy nodded in understanding, but there was something in his expression that suggested he knew something more but didn't want to say it.

"And as for Fisk's question," said Gi, "It was because of Hoggish Greedly causing a disaster that we all met."

"It was Gaia that asked you all here, right?" Doyle said, "She's the Spirit of the Earth."

"What?" exclaimed Linka, "She is not!" Doyle snorted.

"I'm sorry, but don't try to lie to me. Captain Planet himself comes from the Earth and why would she be here with this special island if you guys had all just suddenly found your rings and decided to fight this Hoggish Greedly guy?" Doyle shook his head, "Trust me when I say I won't tell a soul, I just feel a little disappointed that you guys tried to keep it a secret."

"They had every right to." Doc pointed out, "We didn't tell them about Fisk and Zon until they asked."

"Yeah, but they're the Planeteers, they don't try to keep things secret because they're trying to protect the planet, so everything they do or say is usually outspoken and not hidden."

"But that doesn't mean it has to apply to Gaia."

"Stop, both of you." Drew pushed them apart after noticing how they were leaning towards one another, "No fighting, please. This is supposed to be a nice visit and you two are _not_ gonna ruin it with fighting."

"Well, he's not wrong." Gi admitted, "Gaia is the Spirit of the Earth and the one who actually brought us together, but we don't want a lot of people to know about her. She could get hurt."

"How can someone immortal get hurt?" Doyle scoffed at the idea.

"You have no idea." Wheeler had returned and he was staring angrily at his brother, "She can get hurt in ways you can't imagine because you don't know her like we do. Don't try to justify something if you don't know anything about it." He took his seat again. Doyle didn't try to argue back. He knew Wheeler had a point but that didn't mean he agreed with it. He'd learned from arguing with Doc that egging things on didn't always work out, however.

"Planeteers, I hate to cut the visit short but there's an Eco-Emergency to deal with." Gaia poked her head into the room.

"On our way, Gaia." Kwame nodded and everyone got up from their seats. He turned to the Saturdays, "It was nice to meet all of you and maybe we can get together again sometime to talk more. I would love to hear more of how you save cryptids all the time."

"And we'd like to get to know you all a little more too." Drew said, "If we're gonna be a good family to Wheeler, we might as well get to know his family, too."

"And thanks for having us, it was a blast." said Doyle, "Except for Komodo jumping on me."

"You kinda deserved that." said Zak.

"Yes, and getting mauled by a genetically altered komodo dragon is high on my bucket list." Doyle quipped.

"You weren't mauled, you were cuddled and licked."

"Same thing."

"It was good having you over." said Linka, "Safe travels to you all." The Planeteers said their last goodbyes before heading to the Crystal Chamber to learn more about the emergency and the Saturdays and Doyle returned to the airship. With phone numbers exchanged, even though this second meeting had left him stressed, Wheeler couldn't help but feel like he needed to see them again soon. The more he saw his new family and got to know them, the more he would be at ease with them, right? But then why couldn't he shake the anxious feeling that something was wrong?

* * *

_**Hey guys, I know it's been a long while since I've posted anything, so here you go! I actually had some of it written for the longest time and finished it tonight because I was staying up for the music of New Year's Rockin' Eve, but now I'm not sure where to go, exactly. However, I will say that there are gonna be some headcanons in this story for Doyle and a slight x-over later on, but it shouldn't impact the story too much. Just wanted to let you guys know, and if you guys have a suggestion or two on what should happen next, just leave it in the reviews. I know what I want to happen but it comes later in the story and so I need something to fill in the gap for a while. Personally, I'm thinking the Planeteers or Saturdays joining each other on missions, maybe to help out or learn more about the other side? I don't know for sure.**_

_**Have a Happy New Year and please read & review!**_


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